Sudan: confident in convincing the UN Security Council of progress in Darfur

Sudan's foreign minister Mustafa Othman Ismael stressed yesterday that his country's government is confident it will convince the UN Security Council of the progress it had attained in Darfur.

In this respect, Sudan's minister of state at the ministry of the interior, Ahmad Muhammad Haroun, said that the government completed 90% of its obligations stated in the plan agreed upon with the UN over Darfur.

The Sudanese minister added that the UN envoy Yan Brunik will give a verbal report to the UN Security Council on the conditions in western Sudan. He stressed that the basic criterion to implement the agreement with the UN is to specify the secure areas before the end of the current month, August, so as to avoid international sanctions.

These developments came several days before peace negotiations over Darfur to be hosted in Nigeria's capital Abuja next Monday, and to be attended by the Sudanese government and the two main rebel movements in the area.

A Sudanese governmental source said that Khartoum views the negotiations with "openness" but will refuse any "prior condition" to be set by the rebels.

On the other hand, the Nigeria's senate approved the request raised by President Oba Sanjo to dispatch some 1500 soldiers to Darfur. This consent allows the deployment of a first contingent of 150 men to ensure the security of the African Union observers and sending 1500 men later if the African Union approves the deployment of a force, its real mission is to keep peace in Darfur.